 Industry Pro Newsletter: Box Office Realities Show Recovery Slow Across the Countryby Alex Freeman - May 16, 2022 While governmental support over the past few years has helped companies stay afloat, with rising costs and additional pandemic related support no longer an option, the realities are starting to settle in. Industry Pro Newsletter: AEA Takes on Touring, Tony Nominations Announcedby Alex Freeman - May 10, 2022 Tony Awards season is officially underway! With the announcement yesterday of the nominations, BroadwayWorld will be bringing you continuous coverage, stories, and exclusive interviews leading up to the big night in June. Industry Pro Newsletter: Lortel Winners Announced, Drama Desk Nominations Delayedby Alex Freeman - May 2, 2022 At the top of our Industry Trends section this week, we have a story about honey from the bees at the Vienna State Opera. Paired with our other story about implementing digital ticketing at venues, we can see this as two ways that companies can go about reducing the environmental harm that comes from producing large-scale live events. Industry Pro Newsletter: Tony Awards Calendar Shifts, A Brooklyn Theater Tries a Netflix Modelby Alex Freeman - April 25, 2022 The rising costs of production are putting a squeeze on many theatres - from Long Wharf to the Edinburgh fringe. While some of these costs are inflation related and are sure to come back down in the long term, it does leave the question of what theatres and producers can do as they try and recover from the past two years of challenges. Industry Pro Newsletter: AEA files with NLRB on Behalf of Waitress Tour, Vaccine Checks to End on Broadwayby Alex Freeman - April 18, 2022 While all Broadway theatres will still require strict audience masking through at least the end of May, many will stop checking audience members vaccination status on April 30th. Regionally, news about new businesses and new performance spaces for companies, and on Broadway, Disney Theatrical brings a new wrinkle to ticketing. Industry Pro Newsletter: Olivier Awards Last Night in London, Broadway's April Gets More Chaoticby Alex Freeman - April 11, 2022 Broadway companies announcing cancellations and temporary layoffs as they deal with a new COVID surge within the theatre industry. What this will ultimately mean as we approach the Tony eligibility cutoff date remains to be seen, but there is a tension in the air as many shows work hard to get open and protect their stars from catching the virus. Industry Pro Newsletter: 'Keep the Requirements' say DC Theatregoers, April's Top Ten off-Broadway Showsby Alex Freeman - April 4, 2022 Survey data suggest that theatregoers want to see mitigation measures - such as vaccination requirements and masked audiences - remain in place for the foreseeable future. This survey data specifically comes from DC, but the Broadway League is also taking notice and mulling their own plan whether or not to extend these requirements past April 30th. Industry Pro Newsletter: The Lost Generation of Theatre-Makers, Broadway League Reports Individual Grossesby Alex Freeman - March 28, 2022 Last week, we got two different sets of data that started to make a case for the current state of the cultural economy - a report from the NEA laying out just how bad things got in the depths of 2020 (and hinting at some initial recovery in 2021) - and the first time The Broadway League reported individual show grosses since Broadway reopened. Industry Pro Newsletter: Nicole Rosky New Editor-in-Chief of BroadwayWorld, New Data on Pandemic Recoveryby Alex Freeman - March 21, 2022 New data points show that the theatre industry is once again at an inflection point - first, data backs up the anecdotal sense that the recovery from the pandemic shutdown has been uneven across the globe, and across different regions within countries. With pandemic response being handled on a local level, this uneven recovery is not surprising. Industry Pro Newsletter: Tony Awards Have a Date, New DEI Report from AEAby Alex Freeman - March 14, 2022 The announcement of the Tony Awards and the return of the BC/EFA Red Bucket campaign brought a huge sense of normalcy back to the theatre industry last week - unfortunately this week, we were also reminded how far the industry has to go in establishing the new normal with the release of Actors Equity Association’s latest Diversity and Inclusion report. Industry Pro Newsletter: Kelvin Dinkins, Jr New Executive Director at ART, Barbara Gaines to Retire from CSTby Alex Freeman - March 7, 2022 With many of the pandemic restrictions being lifted in New York City this week, that the Broadway COVID safety team will celebrate their 2,000th performance on Broadway Tuesday night highlights the new phase of normalcy that the industry has entered. Industry Pro Newsletter: NLRB examines the Independent Contractor Questionby Alex Freeman - February 28, 2022 The geopolitical landscape shifted in a major way over the weekend, with Russia invading Ukraine in an unprovoked attack on their sovereignty. The resulting conflict has caused many arts organizations, including the Met Opera, to cut ties with artists and organizations that are connected to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Industry Pro Newsletter: Associates Get a Union, Gulfshore Playhouse Joins LORTby Alex Freeman - February 21, 2022 Congratulations to Gulfshore Playhouse on becoming the 77th member of the League of Resident Theatre’s - a story we have under the regional section of this week’s newsletter. We also have the story of Hollywood retaining their return to work protocols to keep their sets as safe as possible, even as several states and municipalities roll back their own mandates. Industry Pro Newsletter: Dramatic Publishing Wins Arbitration, Regional Jimmy Awards Competitions Announcedby Alex Freeman - February 14, 2022 Across the industry last week, two trends have begun to emerge more fully: the first being we continue to have more data on just how bleak things were for the industry over the past two years. The second is that more companies are ready to emerge from that darkness stronger than ever - with new spaces ready to open and new seasons being announced. Industry Pro Newsletter: Shelly Lowe Confirmed as NEH Chair, Broadway Data Shows Reopening Did Not Go As Plannedby Alex Freeman - February 7, 2022 While the data from the early winter show that Broadway’s reopening didn’t go as planned, and the January closing announcements were an emotional blow after the Omicron surge, the slate of opening dates announced on Broadway for early to mid-April, have many in the industry starting to feel optimistic that this time a corner has truly been turned. Industry Pro Newsletter: Smaller Shows Feel the Squeeze, CTG Eyes Transformationby Alex Freeman - January 31, 2022 While we’ve thought we were looking at this turning point before, that doesn’t change the fact that the work to bring further equity to the industry remains ongoing, and as companies continue to chart their paths forward, many are working to build that equity into their recovery. Industry Pro Newsletter: New Pay Equity Standards, Audiences Want Vaccine Mandatesby Alex Freeman - January 24, 2022 In New York, some governmental support may be renewed for the performing arts sector in the form of the New York City Musical and Theatrical Production Tax Credit. Meanwhile last week, members of the creative economy were in front of the House Small Business Committee to lobby for more support from a national level. Industry Pro Newsletter: Closing vs Hiatus, Does the Subscription Model Still Make Sense?by Alex Freeman - January 18, 2022 News of more closings - and planned reopenings - highlighted the Broadway news last week, and Broadway and many regions also announced an extension of mask mandates and vaccination requirements for audiences into the spring, serving as a reminder that the path to that final “new normal” will likely have a few more twists and turns before we arrive. Industry Pro Newsletter: Pauses and Postponements Continue, West End Reduces Weekly Performancesby Alex Freeman - January 10, 2022 As the industry works to both emerge from the pandemic and deal with the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, responses are starting to differ based on region. Some Broadway producers are prioritizing their ongoing tours, others are pulling people from the tour to keep running on Broadway. In Chicago, no food and drink are allowed in the theatre. Industry Pro Newsletter: LA Institutions Require Boosters, Boston Invests in the Artsby Alex Freeman - January 3, 2022 While the next few weeks may be rough within the industry as we continue to grapple with another surge in the virus related both to the new variant and holiday travel, we remain in a much stronger position - new treatments are available for those that do contract the virus, and the number of people receiving vaccines and boosters continues to rise. Industry Pro Newsletter: AEA's New Executive Director, More Restrictions Around the Globeby Alex Freeman - December 27, 2021 While the production shutdowns (and recent closing announcements) are an echo of March 2020, it is important to remember that across Broadway and across the country, there were many productions that were able to continue their holiday performance schedule without interruption, thanks to the health and safety protocols that theatres have in place. Industry Pro Newsletter: The Cancellations, The Policy Changes, and The Worryby Alex Freeman - December 20, 2021 The cancellations. The story in the industry of the last week or so has been reminiscent of March 2020, though as many observers and epidemiologists have reminded theatre fans - it isn’t as bad as that. The cancelled performances are a sign that testing programs are working. Industry Pro Newsletter: Revising The Nutcracker, New Restrictions in Europeby Alex Freeman - December 13, 2021 For many theatre and dance companies, now is the time for the big moneymaker - Christmas Carol and The Nutcracker in most cases, a slightly different holiday tradition in other places. We are still waiting to see what the final numbers look like as companies grapple with new variants, new restrictions, and stringent (and often costly) testing protocols for their performance company Industry Pro Newsletter: The Numbers Are In on Annie Live and the State of the Industryby Alex Freeman - December 6, 2021 As we once again find ourselves entering a winter of uncertainty, a few breakthrough infections and other illnesses have plagued major productions in multiple markets the past few weeks. While many continue to track the Omicron variant, a surge of Delta cases has made planning more complicated than most people hoped it would be. Industry Pro Newsletter: Box Office Steady Heading into Thanksgiving, Broadway Mourns Sondheim's Passingby Alex Freeman - November 29, 2021 Stephen Sondheim pushed the form to new heights, and in many ways gave us the modern musical that we know today. The theatre world is completely different because he was in it, and as we move forward without Sondheim, it will never be the same again. |
